Round 39 - 01/11/11: The Day My Shoulders Died.

Tuesday’s workout was...let’s just say as a result this whole week has felt like my first week of CrossFit all over again. My shoulders are on fiiiiiire. Between the pushups and pull ups from Monday and what we did on Tuesday...I had to go for a hot tub after my workout today to see if I could loosen up my muscles a bit. No amount of stretching was helping.

But apparently I enjoy pain (not that it should’ve taken me that long to figure out ;)), because I’ve stuck to my workout schedule anyway (I get sad when I miss it!).

WOD started with bench press for a 3 sets of a 5. My shoulders were already hurting, but I worked up to 85lbs and gave it a try. I didn’t quite make the 5^th rep, but the trainer was spotting me and didn’t think it was because of a lack of arm strength. Apparently I wasn’t arching my back enough throughout the movement and that’s important for assisting the movement. I missed out on why, haha. I’ll have to try it next time. I ended up doing 3 sets of 5 at 75lbs. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for though.

The second part of the workout...ugh. It’s where my shoulders failed, haha. We had to do 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 sets of push press and kettlebell swings for time. I was a little ambitious and set my bar at 53lbs. My kettlebell was the 35lb this time.

The push presses nearly killed me. I felt like I was never going to make it, but somehow I did. The kettlebell swings were doable for the first while, but by the end nothing felt doable. I have been in so much pain ever since. Haha. Stupid push presses. I am really glad I finished with the weight I did though… it would’ve sucked to have to swap out for something lighter halfway through. I ended up finishing in 14:10 (which wasn’t as bad a time as I thought it would be).

And that was Tuesday’s workout. I’ll post about today’s in a little bit!

- N

Round 38 - 01/10/11: 'Cindy'

Okay, post two for tonight. I hope everyone had a great weekend! This is my workout from today.

I really liked the workout we did today because it started with pull up work for a 1 rep max. As you guys know, my goal is to do a real, unassisted pull up and today I got to see how close I was. I tried a few different band combinations and I managed to do one (almost complete) pull up with the medium sized band only. I tried a few reps with the thick band, a few with a thin band and a medium band and finally the trainer told me to take a break and come back to try just the medium band. I feel like if I hadn’t done quite as many pull ups leading up to it, I would’ve completed it fully. It was really close though.

Still, I was excited to see how far I’d come. I remember when I couldn’t even do one pull up with the thick band. It’s definitely a marked improvement.

Next we did back squat. My goal was 135lbs because last time I managed 125lbs. My wrists were really bugging me today, and I think I was holding the bar too narrow to start. When I spread my grip a little (on the intern’s suggestion) it felt better.

I worked up to 125lbs pretty quickly and then went for 135lbs. I did two sets at 135lbs and on the second set the trainer and the intern were watching me. They told me to add more weight. Haha. I ended up doing 5 reps at 145lbs. I probably could break 150 next time if I plan a little better. I’ll almost be able to back squat my body weight! That’s exciting! I wonder what I can deadlift now. I’ll have to make sure I try deadlifts this week...

The last part of the workout was an AMRAP for 10 minutes. The workout was called “Cindy” but it was a mini-Cindy because we only did 10 minutes instead of 20. It’s a fast paced workout so 10 minutes was plenty after the kind of exercises we’d done before. It consisted of 5 pull ups (where I just used the thick band), 10 push ups and 15 squats. I ended up doing 7 sets and an extra round of pull ups in the 10 minutes. I thought that was pretty good overall.

I’ll be back again tomorrow so I’ll let you guys know how it goes. Have a good night!

- N

Round 37 - 01/07/11

Alright, so I’m a little behind in updating. I worked on Saturday and felt pretty crappy all day and writing just wasn’t in the cards...

So you guys are going to get a double whammy tonight! Excited? ;) Here’s Friday’s post...

Today’s workout was short! Haha. It was good though, I wasn’t feeling that great so my endurance is really not there right now. I needed something short and sweet and that was exactly what I got.

For starters, front squat. Last time I did 2 reps at 105lbs. Today I did a 3 rep max at 115lbs. Increasing your front squat is a much slower process than increasing weight on your back squat, so I definitely went up gradually. My wrists were sore and it kind of felt like the bar was choking me (which is how it’s supposed to feel, haha), but I got ‘er done. I never look forward to doing front squats, but I look forward to the number afterwards.

Next we did a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 workout (10 reps, then 9, then 8, you get the picture) of deadlifts (at 75lbs for me) and wall balls (12lbs for me). I’ve never done deadlifts in an actual workout before so this was kind of new to me. Deadlifts are a slow exercise. You have to tighten your back, stand up completely straight and lower the weight, keeping the bar as close to your body as possible the whole time. It took me a few reps to figure out how to do it “fast” so I was a little slow out of the gate. The wall balls felt great. I think next time I’ll go up to the 16lb one. The last time I tried it my form was really affected, but I think I’ve gotten strong enough to handle another 4lbs now.

There was another girl working out beside me who started a bit over a minute before me and the intern was kind of egging us to compete with each other (for fun, of course). I was so close to catching her. She finished her last wall ball seconds before me. Considering how much sooner she started, I definitely made up a lot of time, but it was just fun competing. I really wanted to catch her. Hahah. I finished in 6:23. Like I said, short and sweet.

And that was today’s workout! I hope you all had a great weekend!

- N

Round 36 - 01/06/11: ‘The Handstand Pushup’

Okay no, nobody get excited, I didn’t do a handstand pushup. I did, however, make a huge leap in my progression towards a handstand pushup. I ended up completely vertical several times during my workout and that was a big milestone for me. I started by trying to walk myself up the wall (feet on the wall, walk your hands in as much as you can) like I have been before. I was actually able to move this time (which, as you know, felt impossible a few weeks ago). After a little practice to get better form for the actual handstand the trainer suggested doing a headstand. I did a few where I tried to kick my legs up as high as I can, never actually hitting the wall. The trainer then suggested that he put me against the wall completely.

I did not want to at first, but he assured me he’d spot me and said “what’s the worst that could happen”. I gave it a go after a little probing and I did an actual headstand. I tried a few more times and in all honesty, getting up there is the worst part. Once you’re there it’s not bad at all. I actually had a lot of fun doing it. It was cool and felt like such a huge leap from what I had been doing so far. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. Maybe I’ll be able to kick myself onto the wall next time.

The workout was a 21-15-9 that consisted of power cleans (which I’m feeling so much more comfortable with now), knees-to-elbows (probably one of the hardest single exercises I’ve done at this point), and box jumps. I couldn't actually get my knees all the way to my elbows, but I got as high as I could.

I finished in 13:24. The workout seemed to take forever because of the power cleans and the knees-to-elbows (which some people did fast but took me forever). The box jumps were by far the easiest part.

I’m feeling better today, but still not quite myself. I’ll be going to the gym after work tomorrow and then hopefully recuperate a bit before my next session. I also desperately need new running shoes. My knees haven’t been feeling right during my runs because they’re so beat up.

And that’s it for now! Have a great night guys!

- N

Round 35 - 01/04/11: ‘Starless’

So, I’m sick. I felt it when I was getting up to go to the gym but thought maybe I was dragging from being lazy all day...well nope, I’m sick. And my boss (finally) got back to me telling me I’m supposed to be working tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. (Thanks for the notice, guys.) If I feel like this I won’t be going to work. It’s been downhill since I left the gym…But I did get through my workout, so hopefully it won’t get much worse than this. I’ve upped my Vitamin D intake just to be safe.

Anyway, today we got into the swing of things with one heavy lifting exercise and a conditioning workout. The WOD was a 3 rep max of press followed by a 10 minute AMRAP of 50 feet of lunges and 10 burpees.

For press I really had no idea where my max would be. I haven’t done a basic press in a while and the last time I did that I maxed out at 57lbs (only really finishing the exercise with 55lbs). Because press uses pretty much only your shoulders it’s harder to increase the weight. With exercises that use big muscle groups (like squats and deadlifts) you don’t notice the difference between 5 and 10lbs the same way you would in exercises that use smaller muscle groups. For press you have to go up in really small increments because of this.

So I spent a good while just increasing my press weight. I didn’t want to max myself out too soon and we were only going for a 3 rep max. I ended up getting to 65lbs (after some probing from the trainer) and he said he only thought that was 80% of my max (even though he watched me barely finish the last rep). We decided to give 68lbs one shot and see what happened.

Well, I had it. I really, really had it. I did the first two reps (with some struggle) and I swear I would’ve managed the third one if I’d just taken a rest at the top of the second rep. Instead I realized too late I needed to rest (taking one on the bottom of the movement) and lost all my momentum.

So my 3 rep max for the day was 65lbs, but I swear next time I’ll be able to break 70. If I had had a clearer objective in mind I wouldn’t have had so many “in between” sets and I wouldn’t have tired so easily.

It was during the conditioning workout that I started to realize I was actually sick. I was just tiring so easily and my head seemed fuzzy. The workout was 50 feet of lunges with a weight overhead (45lbs for boys and 25lbs for girls). Normally I don’t do exactly the prescribed workout (in terms of prescribed weight and stuff) so I get a little star beside my name on the board that means “modified”. I hate that star. I want that star gone. I know it’s a work-in-progress and it could take years to get all those completely gone...but I just want a few of them gone. I want to be able to do a few workouts without needing to “modify” it.

Well today that happened. I lifted the 10lbs over my head to test it out and the trainer looked and me and shook his head. I lifted the 15lbs over my head and he did the same thing, “keep going”. I ended up using the 25lbs for the whole workout and kept a pretty good pace throughout. The burpees drained me quickly and that totally slowed me down but I’m chalking that up to being sick. I ended up doing 4-and-a-bit rounds of the prescribed workout in 10 minutes.

So all-in-all, a good workout day. I wish I’d gotten in 5 rounds of the AMRAP, but I can’t really control getting sick. I gave it my all and I’ll be hurting tomorrow and that’s the important thing.

Have a good night guys!

- N

Round 34 - 01/02/11: 'Jack'

I made it to the gym today! I didn’t do much of anything on New Year’s Eve, but for some reason I’ve been so exhausted the last few days. I think I’m a little under the weather.

WOD today was awful. My shoulders were on fire and it seemed like it was never going to end. I felt like I was really dragging too...don’t know if it was because I’m a little sick or because my barbell was really heavy for the exercise I was doing. It was a good workout (great even) and I’m really glad I went...I just didn’t feel like I did fantastic.

The only part of the workout was an AMRAP for 20 minutes. I should’ve expected it to be brutal (20 minutes is long for an AMRAP), but for some reason the workout looked easy. 10 push press, 10 kettlebell swings and 10 box jumps. I like all those exercises and don’t find anyone particularly draining on it’s own (not like a burpee or something). I set my barbell at 53lbs and grabbed the 26lb kettlebell. I had the trainer look at me do a few kettlebell swings because I kept having people correct my technique last time. She made a few tweaks and told me the weight was too easy for me...so I either had to go up to the 35lb one or change the exercise a little. I ended up doing the latter (on the trainer’s suggestion) and switched from Russian Kettlebell swings to American Kettlebell swings (see this video; Russian swings go to your shoulders, American swings go over your head. American swings are obviously more challenging because of the height you have to get, so you use less weight). The trainer explained to me that some workouts specify Russian swings and other workouts give you the option to pick and choose. I knew the kettlebell was too light for me at 26lbs, but I was wary of increasing the weight when I wasn’t completely comfortable with my technique. I felt better after having her watch me.

I ended up finishing just shy of 7 reps of the exercise, and that was one of the lower numbers on the board. I absolutely felt spent the entire way through. Those push presses killed me and I was taking a way longer rest than I usually needed to. I could've sworn the bar was 65lbs instead of 53 by the end. I got so drained so quickly! Every time I had to go pick up my barbell again it was daunting and the 20 minutes seemed to go on forever. I was so happy to be done this one. It was way harder than I expected it to be.

I’ll go back tomorrow and probably go for my run on Tuesday. I just felt like I needed to be there today. I missed Thursday and I was going stir crazy just sitting at home. It felt good to get out.

How's everyone doing? Back at the workouts after the holidays? I'm so glad not to be at a regular gym this year because I used to dread the month of January. This year'll be different, thankfully.

Have a good night guys!

- N

Happy New Year! - Month Two Roundup

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic evening last night and are ready and raring to go in the New Year. I took some quick-ish measurements and a photo for you guys for my month two progress report since I’ll be starting month three of CrossFit next week. I’ll probably do the at-home workout today (100 pushups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats for time).

There’s not a huge difference (as you can see from my inches lost), but there is something I think. In the New Year I’m thinking of starting a modified version of the Paleo Diet. Maybe that’ll help me shed some weight a little faster.

Also, I don’t know when this happened but I think I grew half an inch in height...so good news there.

Stats:

Height - 5’7(.5)”, haha

Weight - 157/158

Bust - 38”

Waist - 29.5"

Hips - 38.25

For some reason my waist just isn’t budging, but I always lose weight there last, so I guess that’s to be expected. I’ve gone down a whole cup size in my bra though (got measured yesterday to spend my Victoria’s Secret gift card). I never was able to lose weight there, so I’m glad for that. I could definitely stand to shrink a little in that area (and every other area). Hopefully I really start seeing the inches come off this month.

And this is my progress picture for the last month. Like I said, not a huge difference but I see something for sure (as in more definition). Maybe it’ll just take me more time.

Also, I was a size 8 (comfortably) in my favourite workout pants when I started CrossFit and I went to the store yesterday (again, to spend gift card money) and decided just for kicks to try on the size 6. I ended up buying a size 6 in the pants because the sales girl seemed to think they fit me great (I thought they fit but they could’ve been a little looser, I just wanted a second opinion, I didn’t want to size up if I was going to be shrinking more, so I bought them in a different fabric that’s more forgiving). I guess that’s the inches lost in the hips/bum. That was kind of a big deal for me, my size goal when I was losing weight (at a size 14/16) was a size 6...so yeah, definitely have to keep checking the size tag to make sure I’m actually wearing a 6. It’s a little surreal. I haven’t been a size 6 since I was 14 (wow, 9 years). It seems like such a big jump from an 8 to a 6.

Now my goal is mostly to be bikini ready by summer...but that’s more on my perception than an actual number I can compare too.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

- N